Furnace for melting glass and other purposes



. 1. s. SHAW. b FURNACE FOR MELTING GLASS AND OTHER PURPOSESA.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4. |920.

Patented Nov. 23, 1920,

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

y I. s. SHAW. FURNACE FOR MELTING GLASS AND OTHER PURPOSES..

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, IS20- In l Q IL.

J.-s. SHAW.A l FURNACE FOR MELTING GLASS AND OTHER PURPOSES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1920.

Patented Nov.l 23, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FIG@

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J. S. SHAW. FuRNAcEFoR ME'LTING GLASS AND OTHER PURPOSES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1920. *A Patented Nov. v23, 1920.

the furnace.

y entren santas JOI-IN SCHOFIELD SHAW, OF POOL, NEAR LEEDS, ENGLAND.

FURNACE FOR MELTING GLASS AND OTHER PURPOSES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 23, 1920.

Application led May 4, 1920; Serial No. 378,853.

To all whom t 'may concern.'

Be 1t known that I, JOHN SoHoFInLD SHAW, residing at F urze Hill, Pool Bank,`

Pool, near Leeds, in the county of York, England, have invented new and useful lvmprovements in or Relating to Furnaces for Melting Glass and other Purposes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improve-v ments in furnaces employed for melting glass and other purposes.

The object oi this invention is to provide a furnace in which a regenerative or re cuperative furnace for heating the air for combustion purposes is dispensed with, and in which the air admitted to the interior of the furnace is more efficiently heated during its passage through the several filles, uptakes and passages to the combustion chainber, separate flues being employed for ro' turning the waste gases to the front end of An important feature of this invention is the arrangement of the said flues, uptakes, and passages for the admission of air and lthe removal of the waste gases, a double series of flues being employed, portions of which are arranged below the bath or tank in which the glass or other metal is melted; the air admission flu'es being interposed between the bottom of the batn or tank and the series of waste gas flues. The air and Waste gases are arranged to pass through the said filles in opposite directions.

According to this invention the furnace is built as hitherto on a concrete foundation and of fire-bricks or other refractory materials and in the usual manner and shape.

In the furnace is built or formed as usual the bath or tank or other receptacle for receiving` the glass or other metal to be melted, the bottom of the bath or tank being formed in the usual manner. Below the .bottom of the bath or tank are arranged a number of longitudinal and parallel lines or passages for the admission of air. The said lues or-passages are open at4 their front or right hand ends and communicate at their rear or left hand ends with a transverse flue or passage. A number, say, three or more, vertical fiues or uptakes connect the transverse flue with a corresponding number of horizontal openings leading into a shallow longitudinal flue or passage arranged above the bath or tank and under th'e crown of the fu-rnace. The front (right hand) 'end of the said shallow iue is'. arranged to communicate with the combustion chamber in such a manner that the gases from a gas chamber pass through one or more short flues and mix with the heated air as it enters the combustion chamber. The waste gases or products of combustion escape from the rear (left hand) end of the said tank or bath through a number, say, four or more, horizontal openings, and vertical iiues or passages, the lower ends of which communicate with a second transverse flue or passage at the rear end of the furnace. A third transverse Hue' is provided near to the frontend of the furnace and the second and third transverse fines are connected togetherby a number, say, six,

more or less, longitudinal and parallel fines or passages. The third transverse iue or passage 1s connected by a flue or passage to the chimney or stack. The second and third transverse fines, their connecting longitudinal flues or passages and the flue or passage to the chimneyare all arranged on a lower level than the air inlet flues or passages and the first named transverse iiue or passage, portions of the air inlet and the waste gas flues, and their transverse flue being below the bath or tank and so arranged that the air and waste gases travel in opposite directions. In the above arrangement of flue in the furnace the air admitted into the fiue'between the bottom of the bath and the Waste gas fine mingles with the gas from the gas chamber after the air has been delivered into lthe combustion chamber and during its palssage through the flue becomes heated bycontact with the heat from the bottom of the bath. The air and Waste gases travel inv opposite directions. l

In the accompanyingdrawings is shown a means for carry-ing thel invention into practice, in whichl ,l c

' Figure l is a sectional lelevation of a glass melting furnace on line A, B, Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a sectional ,plan on line C, D,

Fig. 3 is a art elevation and a part vsection von line L, F, Fig. et;

Fig. 4 is ap'art'sectionalfplan of the front end of the furnace online G, H, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a partiplan looking at the top of the rear end of the furnace;

Fig. 6 is a part end elevation of a section 'on line I, J, Fig. 5 of the rear end of the;l 5

furnace;

Fig. 7 1s a part sectional elevation et the l rear end of the furnace on line i, L, Fig.

Like parts in' all the views are marked with similar letters of reference.

The furnace built upon a concrete foundation a and of fire-bricks or other rev 10 fractory material in the usual manner and shape. ln thc furnace isbuilt. a bath or tank or other receptacle,-hercinafter termed the bath ?),-for receiving the glass or other material to be melted. The bottom of the bath b is formed in the usual manner.

The space c forms the flue 'or combustion Kchamber between the top of the bath b and crown (Z. The space c also acts as a flue for the combined air and gas which passes over the bath I). The gas passes from chamber e to the flue or combustion chamber c through one or more I'lues and the gas from the chamber c mingles with the lheated air from fine g. A second space g with a crown L is formed above the bath b. The space or flue g is in communication with the cold air that is admitted to the furnace. Below the bath are arranged a series of flues i say six, more or less, for the admission of air. The

flues z' communicate at their rear end with a transverse Hue j arranged at the rear end of the furnace. The flue extends the width of the bath b and a communication is made between the lues and y] by a num'- 35, ber of vertical uptakesor fines r: and horizontal openings m.. Three lues 7c are shown at Fig. 5 which communicate with the transverse flue j, and at Fig; 3 are shown six air inlet flues i which communicate at their 4.0 inner ends with the said transverse flue j.

but the said numbers are varied as circumstances reqnire. At the front end of the furnace the inlet fines i are open to the air. as shown at Fig. 1. The inlet air Haes 'i are longitudinal and parallel with each other,

and are arranged immediately below the.

bottom of the bath b. Instead of making them with one crown they are provided with a series of arches Z, as shown at Fig. 3, The

air flue g extends the full length of the furnace and, at its rear end it is in communication Withjthe vertical flues 7c by means of a number of horizontal lues or openings fm.. At the front end of the fine f] there are three curved pendant openings a ,whereby the air above the bath b.

On reference to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the brickwork cl and it respectively on the top of the flue or combustioi': chamber c and above the air ue g forni two crowns, the

. crown (l forminga division between the combustion chamber and the airflue g.

Below the airinlet flues i are arranged a number or series of fines p which extend nearly -thc full lcngth of the furnace, as shown al Figsj and the front ends of which communicate with a single transverse chamber r/,-Figs. l and 2,-at a suitable distance from the front of the furnace.. The transverse chamber r] is in communication with a flue which conveys thcI waste gascs to the chimney. At the opposite or rear end of, the furnace is a second transverse fine s extending the full width of the bath. The combustion chamber c and the transverse chamber s are connected together by means of a number of verti al flues t and transverse ues or openings u, the inner ends of the latter opening into the' combustion chamber c as shown at Fig. 7.

' By arranging the air admission fines and the waste gas lines p and y belovsT the bath or tank the air passing through the flues c' is heated by the heat radiating from the bottom ofthe tank or bath and from the tops of the filles p.

On reference to Figs. 3, 5, and'G of the drawings it will be seen that there are Six longitudinal waste gas fines p communicating with the transverse chambers a and Q, and that there are Yfour vertical fines t and transverse flues u communicating with the combustion chamber c and one main outlet r to the chimney, the latter not being shown in the drawings. By the means described the wastegases passing from the combus tion chamber c travel in an opposite direction to the cold air, and they are retained in the tlues p for a longer time than they would hitherto be if they passed directly to the chimney and so are employed for heating the cold air as it passes through the longitudinal lines c' to the transverse chamber j,

and from thence up the three vertical flues c,-at the rear end of the furnace,a.ud the short horizontal flues or openings m to the air flue g which is arranged above the cornbustion chamber c.

Cold air is admitted at the front end of 'the furnace into the longitudinal flues i and from thence it passes into the transverse x .flues j up the vertical fines 7c, through openings or short fluesm into the air flue 9,--

which extends the full width of the eombustion chamber c and bath b,and from thence passes down the curved flues' n at the front end of the furnace Whereit mingles with fines t into the transverse chamber 'sf-at the rear end of the furnace,-and from thence are conveyed through the longitudinal flues p into the transverse chamber g into the flue 9 by which the waste products of combustion are conveyed to the chimney.-

By interposing the cold air longitudinal flues z' between the bottom of the bath b` itjpasses through the flues e', c, m into g where, during its passage through this latter flue, it is further heated by the heat from the combustion chamber o, thus producing an economy in gas for melting'purposes and a greater efficiency of the furnace.

Gas is supplied to the chamber'eV-fwhich is arranged to extend nearly the full width of theAbathV-from a gas producer or other source of supply through the flue o.

It will be seen on reference to Figs. 3 and 6 of the drawings that the longitudinal lues e' and p are arranged immediately one above the other and are provided with supporting arches Z and w.

Other parts of the furnace not explained l or referred to are of the usual and ordinary construction. I

What I claim is y l. A furnace for melting glass and other materials in which a regeneratol1 for heating 4the air is dispensedy with, a bathv for receiving the material to be melted arranged in the interior of the furnace and having a combustion chamberA above it, two sets of longitudinal flues arranged on different levels below the bath and one air flue longitudinally arranged above the bath, one of the lower sets of flues being employed for thc admission and heating of the `cold air by the radiation of the heat from the bottom of the bath during its passage from the outside of the furnace to thev combustion chamber, theY other set of lues being employed for conveying.. the vwaste gases and products of combustion 'from the rear end ofthe combustion chamber, the incoming air and the waste gases being arranged to travel in opposite directions, two sets of vertical flues at4 the rear vof the furnace for respectively connecting the lower air inlet lues with the upperv longitudinal flue, and with the rear of the furnace, a number ofpassages for connecting the upper longitudinal flue to the combustion chamber, and a gas chamber connected by a number of passages to the combustion chamber for conveying the gas to the said chamber for combustion purposes, as set forth.

2. In a furnace for melting glass and other materials, the combination of the bath within the furnace which receives the ma'- l of the bath for connecting the vertical portions of the flues to a longitudinal air chamber over the bath, and passages atfits opposite end to the combustion chamber, a gas chamber connected by passages to the combustion chamber, a second plurality-of ver tical and horizontal flues, and transverse the bath but on and in a different position and level to the firstl named set for conveying the Waste gases and products of combustion away fromthe rear of the combustion chamber to the chimney, as set forth.

3. In a furnace for melting glass and .other material, the combination of two Series of longitudinal flues arranged on different levels below the bottom of the bath of the furnace, a combustion chamber above the bath,.one series of the above named ilues being for the admission and heating of the air, and the other series for-conveying the waste gases and products of combustion away, the latter series being below the air admission flues, a number of transverse chambers arranged at or near the front and the rear ends of thev furnace, one of said chambers being connected by vertical `and horizontal flues with the combustion chamber for conveying the ,products of combustion. away from the latter chamber in an opposite direction to that in which the cold air travels, and the heat from the waste' 'gases is utilized for heating the cold 'air during its passage into and-through the furnace as set forth.

W. FAIRBURN HART, ALICE MARY TURNER Achambers arranged at the rear of and under 

